William m



(No Model.)

' W. Ml POINDEXTER.

SUPPORTING SHELVING, &c.

No. 567,002. Petented Sept. 1,1896.

tee

UNITED STATES FFICE.

PATENT SUPPORTING SHELVING, 800.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 567,002, datedSeptember 1, 1896.

Application filed June 29, 1895. Serial No. 554,492. (No model.)

To all whom it may con-corn.

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM M. POINDEX- 'lER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Washington, in the District of Oolu n1- bia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Supporting Shelvingand other Objects, of which the following is afull, clear, and exactspecification.

My invention relates to the same general arrangement and construction ofsupports as described in Letters Patent nu mbered 541,678, granted to meon the 25th day of June, 1895, the same being applicable to shelving ofany kind or to any use where a removable support is desired.

One object of my present improvements is to form a folding support, theessential features of which are a suitable housing or support having acertain form of bearing, such, for instance, as a plate having a slotand a loosely-mounted dog swinging through the slot and fitting saidbearing or slot and rendered self-supporting whether in Vertical orhorizontal position therein by a shoulder which engages the loweredge ofthe slot when in vertical position and cooperating with a cross-head onthe inner or lower end of the dog engaging behind the side walls of theslot to support the dog when turned down in a horizontal position, orcausing it to lie fi ush with the face of the mounting when turned upout of active position.

A further object is to so form the supporting-shoulder that it will, inaddition to sustaining the dog vertically, limit its inward movement onits bearing or lower edge of the slot and maintain it in proper positionto be drawn down at will, this being accomplished by making a bevel onthe bearing edge and a corresponding undercut in the shoulder, whichcauses these parts to engage when the dog reaches upright position.

A further object is to so form the slotted mounting that the dogs may bereadily engaged at their upper edges to be drawn down into activeposition, this being accomplished by either making a beveled recess inthe mounting just above the slot or by uniformly channeling the face ofthe mounting, so as to reduce the thickness and expose the edge of eachdog above the slot.

A further object is to enlarge the upper portion of the bearing-slot toadmit the cross head on the dog, so that the latter may be inserted fromthe front and then dropped down into normal position and operate in themanner before referred to. v

A further object is to provide slight shoulders on the upper sides ofthe dog that will seat the shelf and hold it firmly without touching thesides of the bookcase.

A further object is to so construct shelves that the self-levelingfeature of my Letters Patent before referred to will not limit the widthof shelf employed or necessitate a location of the front supports backfrom the front. I accomplish this object by locating the rear pins atsuch distances from the front as will effect the automatic leveling ofthe shelf and then recessing the rear corners sufficiently to permit'theportion of the shelf projecting beyond the rear supports to swingbetween the two opposite rows of said supports.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 areperspective viewsillustrating different forms of mounting to which the movable dogs,constructed in accordance with my present invention, are applied. Figs.3 and 4 are horizontal sections through the upper or folded dogs shownin Figs. 1 and 2. Figs. 5 and 6 represent vertical sections takenrespectively through Figs. 1 and 2, the dogs being shown in elevation.The former shows a rectangular shoulder and an inserted backing-strip tosustain the dogs, and the latter showing the self-sustaining undercutshoulder and beveled bearing. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of thepreferred form of dog. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary View illustrating theenlargement of bearing-slot for introduction of dogs from the front,which permits the use of tubing of rectangular section for forming themounting. This view also illustrates the upper bevel, which exposes theupper edge of dog for engagement. Fig. 9 is a plan View of my improvedconstruction of shelf for use in connection with the supports shown inmy patent referred to.

1 represents the mounting, having the bearing socket or opening 2, inwhich is fitted the movable loosely-mounted dog 3, said socket oropening being provided with the lower bearing edge 4, and the dog beingformed with a shoulder 5 or 5 on its lower or outer face, which engagesthe bearing edge 4 to support the dog in vertical position, as shown inthe upper ends of Figs. 5 and 6. As will be seen more clearly in Fig. 7,the dog is further provided at its inner end with a cross head (i, whichserves to retain that end within the mounting by means of the shoulders7, formed by said cross-head at the sides of the dog, which engagebehind the walls of the opening 2. This is the preferred means forpreventing the inner end from passing through the opening, but otherequivalent projections might be used on the inner end of the dog for thesame purpose. The upper or outer end of the dog 3 is slightly beveled,as shown, and when the dog is turned up into the opening 2 its beveledend causes it to fit neatly in said opening and flush with the sides ofthe mounting. In order to expose the upper edge of the dog forengagement by the finger when it is to be drawn down into activeposition, the thickness of the mounting above each opening is reduced,so as to leave a projection of the dog at the point 8. This reduction ofthe thickness to expose the edge of the dog may be accomplished by usinga simple bevel, as shown at 9 in Fig. 8, but I prefer to make it, forconvenience in manufacturing, by channeling the mounting uniformly fromend to end, as shown at 10 in Figs. 1, 2, 5, and 6.

Vith the forms of dogs shown in my present application and in whichthere is no pintle as in my patent referred to it is desirable to havesome means for preventing the backward displacement of the dogs afterthey are turned up in vertical position. When the dogs are turned down,the portion 6 rests on the bearing edge 4 and the shoulder 5 engages infront thereof, so as to prevent inward displacement. WVhen the dogs areturned up, they are supported vertically by shoulder 5. The dogs will beprevented from inward displacement when in use by part of the bookcaseto which the mounting is fixed. To take the place of this the mountingmay be provided with a backing-strip 11, Figs. 1, 3, and 5, maderemovable for insertion of dogs; or the mounting 1 may be made in theform of a tube of rectangular section, in which case the backing wouldbe made integral, as shown at 11 in Fig. 8; and to provide forintroducing the enlarged inner ends of the dogs each opening 2 may beformed with lateral extensions 12 at the upper end of said opening 2,through which the cross-head 6 maybe passed and then dropped down intonormal position for operation in the manner described with reference tothe other figures of the drawings.

A simplified construction and one which is complete in two parts,embodying only the dog and its bearing, is shown in Figs. 2, 6, and 7,wherein the rearward displacement of the dog in its socket both inhorizontal and vertical position is prevented by the shoulder 5. Toaccomplish this purpose, the shoulder has an undercut concavity orrecess 13, which embraces the bearing edge 4 when the dog is in verticalposition. This is preferably made in the form of an inwardly-projectingbevel, to receive which the bearing edge 4 is also suitably beveled.This construction stops the dog at the proper vertical position, andwith the engagement of the upper end of the dog at the top of theopening makes it impossible to dislodge the dog from its seat when inuse.

In all the forms of dog I prefer to make on the upper bearing-face ashoulder 14 for the purpose of seating the shelf and preventing lateralplay of the same without necessity of the shelf bearing against thesides of the mounting 1 or other parts of the bookcase. This allows themaking of the shelf of such length as to pass freely between the ends ofthe bookcase during insertion and at the same time brings the shelf to afixed position of rest.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a construction of shelf adapted for use inconnection with the self-leveling arrangement of supports of my patentreferred to, whereby the depth of shelf is not limited by sucharrangement of supports or the position of supports detormined by thedepth of shelf. This feature of my invention consists of locating thesupports in vertical lines determined by the vertical distance betweensupports in the rear series and then recessing the shelves, as at 15, sothat the full length of shelf will be maintained back as far as the rearsupports, and beyond this line the length of shelf is reduced justenough to permit the projection beyond the rear supports to swingvertically between the planes of the latter, the front and rear seriesof supports being spaced apart, so that an are centered on the frontsupports may include the corresponding rear supports and exclude thoseabove it.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A mounting formed with an opening in combination with aloosely-mounted, nonpivoted dog constructed to swing into the openingwhen not in use and having shoulders for engagement downward upon thelower edge of the opening and also behind the walls of the opening asexplained.

2. The combination of a mounting formed with the side walls and thelower horizontal bearing edge and the dog loosely mounted andnon-pivoted, constructed to swing into the opening when not in use andhavinga shoulder on its face for engaging the bearing edge, andshoulders on its sides for engaging the side walls of the mounting,substantially as set forth.

3. In combination with a mounting formed with an opening, aloosely-mounted, nonpivoted dog having shoulders engaging behind thesides of the opening, and arranged to swing up into said opening, ordown upon the bottom of said opening and maintained in horizontalposition to offer vertical support, as explained.

4. In combination with a mounting having an opening, a swingingloosely-mounted nonpivoted dog having shoulders engaging respectivelybehind the sides of the opening and upon the upper and outer faces ofthe lower wall of said opening and also adapted to engage by its outerend the top of the opening whereby the dog is supported in horizontalposition and when turned up out of use is supported in vertical positionand prevented from displacement from its support, as explained.

5. In combination with a mounting formed with an opening, theherein-described dog constructed to engage behind the walls of theopening, having a cross-bar at its inner end formed with shoulders andhaving a shoulder on its face formed to engage on top and in front ofthe bottom of the opening, whereby when the dog is in horizontalposition it of fers vertical support and when in vertical position itsinward movement is limited and displacement prevented, as explained.

6. In combination with a mounting formed with an opening in its face,the herein-described dog inserted through said opening,

movable therein and having a shoulder on its face to engage the lowerwall of the openin g in the mounting and thus counterbalance the doginward when in vertical position and formed with a cross-head at itsinner end as explained.

'7. In combination with the mounting having an opening, theloosely-mounted non-pivoted dog supported and movable in said openingsubstantially as described, and adapted to enter the opening flush withthe outer face of the mounting; said mounting being recessed forexposing the upper edge of the free end of the dog to engagement by thefinger, as explained.

8. The combination, with the front and rear vertical series of supports,spaced apart so that an are centered on the front supports may includethe corresponding rear supports and exclude those above it; of a shelfhaving an extension of reduced length between the ends of the shelfbeyond the rear supports to permit the shelf to swing upward between thevertical planes of the rear supports; substantially as described.

W. M. POINDEXTER. Witnesses:

H. S. KNIGHT, FRED R. PROOTOR.

